Warrant out for activist Parit after court no-show
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Warrant out for activist Parit after court no-show

Ruling on lese-majeste case against former student leader rescheduled for July 31

Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak (right) and other protest leaders wear T-shirts showing their opposition to Section 112 as they report to the Nonthaburi police station to hear lese-majeste charges on Dec 8, 2020. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak (right) and other protest leaders wear T-shirts showing their opposition to Section 112 as they report to the Nonthaburi police station to hear lese-majeste charges on Dec 8, 2020. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Parit Chiwarak after the political activist failed to appear for a ruling in a lese-majeste case.

Mr Parit, nicknamed Penguin, faces about two dozen charges related to violations of Section 112 of the Criminal Code. He is currently free on bail, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (THLR) said.

The ruling scheduled on Tuesday stemmed from a complaint filed by Nopadol Prompasit, a member of a group claiming to protect the monarchy, about Facebook messages deemed a threat to the institution for five days in July 2021. Mr Parit was also charged with breaching the Computer Crime Act for disseminating harmful information online.

Computer crime charges are frequently laid alongside charges of lese-majeste, which in itself carries a sentence of three to 15 years. Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra also faces a computer crime charge in addition to the Section 112 case on which he was formally indicted last week.

The court has rescheduled the ruling in Mr Parit’s case to July 31.

According to data from TLHR to May 31 this year, 1,954 people have been prosecuted for political participation and expression since the beginning of the Free Youth protests in July 2020. At least 272 are facing lese-majeste charges under Section 112 and 152 have been charged with sedition under Section 116.

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